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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. suit — clothes
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — to bear
  5. scale — in music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. suit — to fit
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — the month
  11. suit — in cards
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. march — music
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — the amount
  21. scale — size or range
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wake — before a funeral

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com